System operators of industrial systems are faced with a large amount of information on the operator screens displaying the status of the industrial system or industrial process. In power systems for instance, an operator may have to monitor a local distribution network comprising a plurality of substations, transformer stations, power lines, and other power equipment forming the distribution network.
A problem with the current way of displaying data on operator screens, which includes utilizing different colors for different status of an equipment in the industrial system, is that the operator always will be presented with data relating to the complete industrial system or process. Hence, it may happen that due to the large amount of information present, the operator will not notice a condition in the industrial system when the condition occurs.
US2006/007396 discloses a method and system for automated monitoring of a display. Gaze tracking is utilized with a display to monitor attention to information on the display. Additionally, a level of alarm is escalated for the updated information when the attention by the system operator is not detected within a predetermined time period.
WO2006/009972 discloses a system and method are provided for managing data being displayed on at least one monitor screen based on monitoring user's attention in relation to the monitor screen. In one embodiment, upon detecting that the user's attention is leaving at least a portion of a screen, the system may alert the user of such an event. Alternatively, the system could alert the user upon detecting a triggering condition while the user's attention is away from the at least a portion of the screen. The step of alerting the user may include modifying at least a portion of a display on a monitor not being viewed by the user. Additionally, the system may initiate preparation of a report including any data not being viewed by a user during the time period when the user is not viewing a portion of the monitor.
EP0826979 discloses that user messages are automatically positioned on a display at a location at which a user's gaze is directed as indicated by an eyetracker. When a user has read the message, as indicated by his eyes having traversed the text, the message is automatically cleared. The message may also be cleared by a user's spoken response.